Somewhere in Time
by mosxyo
Summary: Their engagement has failed, leaving Sakura to clean up the mess left behind. With her life in pieces, Sakura finds herself trapped in a never ending torment within her own mind, reliving cherished moments between her beloved and her. The magical cards may help, but the one person able to use them has gone missing.
1. Chapter 1

Somewhere in Time

_Notes: This is inspired by real life events. Depression, suicide, and substance abuse is very real and very scary. If you are going through a difficult time, do not take matters into your own hands. Help is there for you. One of the scariest things is waking up in a psychiatric ward._

01

Glass shattered rather dramatically. There was a crack and then everything fell into pieces onto the linoleum floor. Clang, clash, screech. The pieces of the mirror fell in every which way and in all different types of pieces. Some were rather large chunks the size of a fist; others were rather tiny, perhaps tinier than the size of a pinky nail. All these pieces now laid in an intricate pattern on the linoleum floor all around a young woman. Her path was blocked by the array of glass from the oversized mirror that she had been moving.

Instead of sweeping the broken shards into a dustpan and throwing them in the rubbish bin, the young woman backed herself up against the cupboards of her tiny kitchen and slowly slid herself down to a sitting position on the floor. Her sweater she had been wearing bunched up in the back at her actions, but she made no effort to correct her exposed skin. Alternatively she wrapped her lean arms around her knees and placed her head on her bent knees at the juncture of where the two pairs met. She pulled her legs closer to her body and started to shake. At first her eyes were dry, lifeless, emotionless and dull. Over the course of a few seconds though once she settled herself into a rocking pattern they became warm and flushed. Pools of water gathered in the inner ducts of her eyes and spread rapidly outward until a steady stream of salty liquid poured over onto her cheeks.

Each piece of broken glass on the floor felt as though it had sprung legs and plunged itself into her flesh. Each sharp piece felt as though it was digging itself deeper and deeper wounds. She pulled herself inward even more now, burying her face now into her knees with eyes shut so tight it hurt. The buildup of tears in her waterline sloshed over even more now creating small moist dots on her black leggings. It all hurt so much when it didn't need to. It all was too much and there was no way around it. No magic spells, no supportive friends nor family. All was on her shoulders, she was now completely alone in this. No way out.

Tomoyo looked at her watch and frowned. It was already past four in the afternoon and still no follow up. Her and Sakura made it a point to converse daily over the phone since The Break Up.

The Break Up, as it was called, shook their entire group of friends. Always perfect and always loving, the two at the core of their circle had parted ways two weeks and two days ago. Neither spoke of it now and neither saw one another now, but word had spread with heightened speed that the couple everyone expected to make it was now done. Over. Sakura no longer wore her engagement ring. Instead it was entrusted to Tomoyo for the time being. The ring sat in the original box now in Tomoyo's closet with a cluster of other bridal pieces. A wedding gown still unfinished, a veil, ivory colored shoes. All sat lonely now and in the dark covered up. Tomoyo did not have the heart to toss any of these things away. There was no one to give the ring back to. Syaoran was gone, phone disconnected, apartment empty. It was almost as if he was a ghost now from a dream everyone remembered. Probably for Sakura this was a nightmare. For the best Tomoyo did not push the issue and found other things to talk about now with Sakura.

She would give her friend one more call before heading out to her apartment to check on her. She took care in dialing the number correctly and pressed the receiver to her ear. The number rolled to voice mail after thirty seconds of ringing. Tomoyo frowned and disconnected the line. "Ah Sakura, it's so cold outside and you make me go out in the snow..." She wrapped herself up in her best winter coat and other cold weather paraphernalia and headed out on a small trek across the sleepy town to see her wonderfully dear friend. Sakura had probably fallen asleep and failed to have a phone nearby to hear it ring. This time of day though was no time to be sleeping.

Tomoyo rang the doorbell once before she turned the doorknob open. It really was dangerous for her to keep her door open like that. Lately her routine of locking the door had slacked greatly. This was not the first time Tomoyo had discovered Sakura's failure to lock her front door. "Sakura! It's me! I thought you may want to go get some Oden with me!" As she spoke into the apartment she pulled her shoes off and padded her way inside.

The apartment was small and modest. There were not many decorations nor paintings on the walls. She had a few pieces of furniture in the living room: a couch, a television, a coffee table. The kitchen was just as bare with a few pots and pans hanging above the sink. "Sakura?" Tomoyo turned the corner and saw a little ball of black with brown hair sticking up from the top. All around the girl were the broken pieces of a mirror the pair had purchased the other day.

She was unsure of what to do at first, her heart all but stopped in her chest. _Don't rush to conclusions_. "Sakura," Tomoyo ignored the broken pieces of the mirror and collapsed onto the kitchen floor next to her precious friend. "Sakura, wake up,"

What little color Tomoyo had left in her face escaped in a fraction of a second when she failed to gain any response. She looked over her body to see if there were any surface wounds from the obvious accident that she had and then rushed to her purse to grab her phone to dial for help. There were a lot of random objects she had to shuffle through before she found her intended object. "Sakura, please be okay..." Tomoyo mumbled as the phone rang. "Please..." Tomoyo touched Sakura's cold face with the back of her hand then held her close to her own shaking body, unable to contain herself and unable to figure out what to do as she waited for help.


	2. Chapter 2

Somewhere in Time

02

A small group of individuals had crowded a small, white room with plastic chairs. Most had lost all color in their faces, some looked angry, some looked sad, some had no expression.

"It's all his damn fault," One of the taller men in the small crowd blurted out in anger. He had dark brown hair that fell into his eyes. An even taller man but with lighter hair and glasses placed a delicate hand on his shoulder to ease the tension. The older gentleman usually retained a calm and warm presence when with others, especially loved ones. At the moment though he carried immense grief and pain in his usually handsome face.

"Touya, not right now, lets all sit, I think we'll be more comfortable," The hand that had been on his son's shoulder pushed him down into one of the plastic chairs in the room. Touya was pushed firmly backwards and found himself sitting in the orange chair. There was no arguing right now. Not when his father used that tone.

Next to the pair was Tomoyo, still as distraught as she was nearly an hour ago now when she first found Sakura on the floor and unresponsive. On the inside Tomoyo felt entirely disconnected from her environment, her brain was still trapped in those moments. How she managed to keep herself together and phone her father after getting off the line with the emergency medical services was beyond her. Her insides were screaming, yelling, crying, swearing, but she managed to hold onto her composure to not worry Sakura's father.

The last of the small crowd stood facing a corner, his slender fingers gripping his face. Indeed he had no words for the situation and cursed himself for his inability to calm anyone down or amend the problems they were all now facing. His other self felt the same as well and fought the urge to be physically present here too.

"Kinomoto?" A short man in a white lab coat had pushed the door open to the waiting room a few moments before. Each head in the group shot up at the sign of potential news. "We'd like you to come back," The entire group started to move, but the short man put his hand up, "Only the father," The other three faces frowned as the eldest Kinomoto family member made his way to the door. He glanced at the three faces, nodded, and disappeared with the doctor.

"Can you tell me what happened? All I know is her friend found her on the floor unconscious with a broken mirror," The other man said nothing, but guided the pair through a series of hallways and doors into a softly lit corridor. Gentle abstract paintings in pastel colors lined these hallways, every few feet or so another large work hung. The pair stopped abruptly in front of a window into one of the rooms that lined the hallway.

"Your daughter has been going through a depression, or so her friend told the intake doctors," The man looked through the window and saw a nurse in light pink scrubs attending to a skinny individual with light brown hair that only reached her chin. "When she came in we immediately took blood to see if it was perhaps a drug-"

"-My daughter doesn't do that though-"

"I know this is hard, Mr. Kinomoto..." The doctor interjected. The pair both looked at Sakura, she was still in the bed, various gizmos and gadgets attached to her lithe figure. "..but... sometimes depression turns us into people we aren't. Your daughter swallowed nearly a whole bottle of sleep-aids..." He trailed off, knowing how hard this must be to hear.

"...What..."

"We're starting to pump her system now, but we cannot be sure about her brain functions at this time, it's still far too early to tell,"

"I want to go in, I need to go in." The usually calm and collected man made his demand.

The doctor nodded and opened the door to the small room. "Of course,"

From the outside, the doctor watched as the large man rushed to the side of his daughter and took her left hand in both of his. The panic in his face was still there, but somehow he looked more relieved to be in the company of his daughter. The doctor could not hear from outside, but he could see the man slowly begin to break down and lose it. On the other side of the small room, the nurse looked on with tender eyes and slowly made her way to the door to give them a moment of privacy.

Thirty minutes later the rest of the group became informed of the situation. Each had spent a small amount of time with Sakura, most had reacted in the same fashion as her father had. Tomoyo found herself cursing internally again, that she had not arrived sooner, that she had not spent the entire day with her to avoid such a situation from arising. Not twenty days ago something like this would have been out of left field, never could she see Sakura so depressed that she would attempt to take her own life. Always strong willed and always a fighter, Sakura never gave up when things were difficult. It was in her personality to be that way.

And now here she was, trapped inside her mind hooked to machines because she had given up.

"Damnit..." Tomoyo clenched her fist and pounded on one of the doors. They had been there for nearly four hours now waiting. Just waiting. There had been no word on her condition and the visiting hours were over. They had all been sent home. Before she left she had phoned her mother to pick her up and bring her home. And now she found herself dazed and wandering these white sterile halls trying to come up with an absolution. "Damnit!" She said one more time startling one of the hospital employees that was pushing a cart of supplies. The employee looked wide-eyed at the girl and stopped in his tracks. "Sorry..." Tomoyo's face softened now that she had company and pushed the door open.

The cold wind tickled on her exposed face, but she paid no mind to it. A little pain was probably nothing in comparison to the struggles internally Sakura was now facing. She could suck it up.

Not far away she saw the dark sedan her mother's driver had. Tomoyo waved her hand to call attention to the car; almost immediately the car zoomed forward and pulled right up in front of her. There was no need to wait for the driver to come around and open the door for her. She yanked the handle open and collapsed into the leather interior and fell straight into her mother's arms. Sonomi had not been the warmest of individuals to her daughter, but all that was forgotten and a distant memory as she stroked Tomoyo's long black hair. "Shh," Sonomi cooed as Tomoyo curled herself up into a ball within her mother's arms. "Get it all out, it's okay,"


	3. Chapter 3

Somewhere in Time

03

_Sakura stood in front of a full-length mirror and examined herself. She turned her body to the left, to the right, turned around, reached her hands up high, then bent over. The sundress she wore reached almost to her ankles and was of a feminine floral print, perfect for the warmer days of the end of summer. The only thing missing was a hat. She reached over to her coat stand and picked a floppy straw hat and jammed it straight on her head. Perfect! _

"_Dad! I'm leaving! Be back later!" Sakura called out as her feet trampled down their wooden stairs. Just a tad late now, she had to run to save time. Her purse found itself on her shoulder and her shoes miraculously found themselves on the correct feet and away she went into the summer afternoon. _

_Outside, the sun was shining high in the sky with a few clouds sprinkled around to the north. Not too hot and not too cool either, the temperature was just perfect for a picnic date. But it wasn't just any picnic date, no, today was her very first date and it was with him, no less. Her cheeks flushed and she touched them in a fit of giggles to feel the heat of her embarrassment. "I can't believe it! It's like some sort of dream!" She twirled herself around and watched her dress flow out around her. She giggled once more and continued on her way to the penguin park on foot. _

_Once there she looked around. No one was around. She frowned, looked at her watch and confirmed the time. Indeed she was there, two o'clock sharp. Was it some sort of trickery on his part? Did she mishear the time over the phone perhaps? "Mou..." The estatic mood she felt as she flew out the door a dozen or so minutes ago slowly became extinguished as she walked deeper into the park and seeing no sign of him or picnic. _

"_HOE!" a pair of hands wrapped around her face and covered her eyes. In a fluster, Sakura flailed her arms about and struggled to regain her composure. In the nonsense and surprise of losing her sight, the young girl tripped over her own feet and fell backwards on top of her assailant. _

_A loud "Urfh" followed as Sakura plopped straight on top of the other young person in the park with her. "Sakura! It's me!" The familiar voice that owned the hands rescinded his grip over her face and waited for the startled girl to turn around and see that she was indeed not under any attack or in any danger. _

"_Hoe...!" Sakura turned around finally and all that excitement that had been extinguished was reignited and in moments she had thrown herself at Sayoran and hugged him close. "Don't do that again!" _

_Syaoran hugged back with one hand and pushed himself up into a proper sitting position with his other hand. Sakura fumbled in his lap as she scolded him. "Sorry..." Syaoran mumbled while he let her go from the hug. "I set up over there, I wanted it to be a bit more private," Syaoran pointed the the edge of the park where the trees started to cluster. Sakura nodded energetically and sprung to her feet. She offered Syaoran a hand up, which he took. Using her strength she pulled the young man up to his feet, yet misjudged how much pull she needed and they found themselves mashed together by the force in which Syaoran sprung from the ground. _

_The pair giggled amongst themselves at their silly antics and walked hand-in-hand to Syaoran's special picnic set up exclusively for their very first real date. _

_It was a marvelous spread Syaoran put out for her, full of yummy favorites of hers and delicious treats from Hong Kong he thought she may want to try. "I made you an omelet too," Syaoran pointed to a dish with his egg creation on it. _

"_Whaaa, Syaoran, I'm so lucky!" She smiled and they sat down on opposite sides of the blanket facing one another. "I can't believe you made all this for me," Sakura looked around and not a single course was missing. There was a small salad, a cup of soup, her omelet and a wide array of candies and desserts to pick from. "I think I'll eat it all," she said with excitement. _

_Syaoran just sat and watched with a smile on his face. He had wanted everything to be perfect and despite the small bout of clumsiness the two had a few moments ago, everything seemed to be running by smoothly. It was simple, but memorable. At last he picked up his own chop sticks and began to dig in to his own lunch once he was satisfied that things were running smoothly. _

_After their meal both laid down on the now cleared-off blanket. There was still plenty of daylight left to enjoy, though the sun had now moved away from the apex of the sky and was slowly coming down to sit in the western part of the sky. The young couple created a T shape with their bodies, Sakura's head lying pressed against Syaoran's full belly. She felt a slight food coma sitting in after devouring all her food and stuffing herself with a handful of the candies Syaoran had brought her from Hong Kong. The sun did not aid to her state, making her rather lethargic in it's warm rays. _

"_Did you enjoy?" Syaoran broke the silence as his fingers found her hair. Quickly Sakura found that this was something she enjoyed. His fingers slipped through her short locks with ease, sometimes a finger would wind itself around a section of hair. All Sakura could do was manage a nod and a smile. Her head moved a bit to catch Syaoran's glance. That smile, it stretched from the ends of her mouth up to her eyes. He patted the top of her head and went back to watching the clouds form in the sky. "Can I ask you something?" _

_Sakura nodded energetically. _

"_Well... it's not really a question..." Syaoran trailed off now, starting to get lost in the moment. "... I just wanted to tell you that I haven't felt happy in a long time. Thank you," He pushed himself and disrupted Sakura's position. To replace his stomach, Syaoran slipped his hands around her head to cradle it. In one of the boldest moves of his life, he brought his face down to hers and caught her lips. _

_A moment later he lifted his face up and smiled down at her. "I promise I won't leave again, I promise to stay in Japan." _


	4. Chapter 4

Somewhere in Time

04

Tomoyo found herself in her old room. Not much had changed since she moved out. Her mother had prepared a fresh set of pajamas laid out and her sheets of her bed turned down. A warm bath awaited her in the adjoining bathroom if she had wanted it. She set her backpack at the door and thought that may be a good idea right now. Her face was red and bloated, her head hurt, and her mind was racing. What was she to do? If only she could smack him, punch him, yell at him and tell him what was really on her mind. Syaoran did not shove those pills down Sakura's throat but he indeed was the reason she did this to herself.

And then there was this part of her heart that swelled with the need to reach out to Syaoran and tell him, not for making him guilty but for the simple fact that he must care about her well-being. They had been engaged! Certainly that had meant something to him. But even with this desire there was no way to get hold of him. In the days following the incident, Tomoyo had done all she could for Sakura. She prowled her address book and telephoned for everyone that could help, anyone that may be able to get in contact with him for her. Nothing. Meiling had even failed to respond.

Now about that bath... Tomoyo frowned and decided it was the best way to clear her thoughts. She undressed and slipped into the warm water that smelled of lavender hoping it could bring some sort of clarity to the situation at hand. The water crept up her body until it engulfed her entire body, including her hair and face. Breath held, eyes closed she searched her soul for a solution. None of this brought her any comfort, everything was everywhere, feelings and emotions a tangled mess with no way to find herself out of this maze-

Wait.

Tomoyo pushed herself up abruptly, splashing water onto the floor due to her quick movements. "Maze... Dream... Time..." Tomoyo's eyes went large. Conventional medicine may not be of any help, but certainly a bit of magic could help? It certainly couldn't hurt. On the vanity next to the tub her cell phone sat. She knew quite a few people that could use magic, or at least knew a bit that may be able to help.

Eriol had not heard from Syaoran either and had expressed his extreme distraught over the situation, but he certainly would be able to offer some help and had expressed his desire to be of service in any was possible to his contingency of Japanese friends. Yue and Kero were within distance though and would be the logical first choice in discussing a plan of action. This would not wait, this was to be now now.

Tomoyo dried herself off in a rush and put her long black hair in a towel before grabbing her phone and dialing Yukito's phone number. Their relationship was awkward at best, never really having much to do with one another unless Sakura was involved. Feelings of awkwardness though were dashed away as Tomoyo's heart raced.

"Hello?" Yukito's voice was soft over the line.

"Yu-Yukito, I need to talk to the other you, it's urgent," Tomoyo managed to blurt out.

"Tomoyo, right now?" Yukito had been indeed caught off guard, and his startled nature was quite palpable over the telephone line.

"Yes, please, can you bring Kero too? I'm staying with my mother right now," Tomoyo bit her lip. Everyone involved had quite a long ordeal today and she knew that it was pushing it but as far as she knew, Yue had not yet been able to reveal himself and discuss the situation with anyone.

A pause, then his response followed, "I'll be there in a few minutes, I have to talk to Touya first," A sigh of relief escaped Tomoyo's lips. This way now she had time to change again and collect more of her thoughts and perhaps manage to get Eriol on the phone, or at the very least on the internet.

A dozen or so minutes passed and Tomoyo was knee-deep into her large walk in closet. Although she lived in a nice sized apartment on her own, it was still not quite big enough to fit everything. Instead she kept a fair amount of her belongings in storage at her mother's for easy access. One box in particular was filled with old VHS tapes and notebooks from her adolescence with Sakura running around Tomoeda capturing Clow Cards and converting them to Sakura Cards. Within each notebook were sketches of battle costumes, which were entirely irrelevant at this time. No, what she was most after were the notes she made following the battles and what had happened. The memories were clear when she was younger, but she knew one day they would fade as more and more cards were added into the mix.

She grabbed a leather notebook with blue stars etched in and flipped through it. This was her very first notebook of costume designs, half of the book was filled with frilly dresses and outfits she created when she first discovered her talent and love for sewing and construction. The other half though was full of her very first notes on costumes, battles and cards.

Perhaps something she wrote down a decade ago, a detail about a card could come in useful. Perhaps she could find some sort of solution in these aged pages. She found her entry on dream quickly. If any card could help, it could most certainly be this one. Sakura was not conscious, perhaps she could be dreaming and just maybe this card could do what doctors could not? Tomoyo tossed the notebook outside of her closet and continue to scrummage through the mess she had quickly created with her frantic actions.

What disrupted her was a tap on the large window that overlooked her bed. Tomoyo was startled at first and jumped a foot high, scattering more of her belongings in her walk in closet. "Yue!"


	5. Chapter 5

Somewhere in Time

Posting earlier and longer chapter for the delay in Chapter 4. Please do review if you've read, I do have a lot pre-written but I'm at a stalemate for the moment so encouragement is appreciated.

05

Sakura was propped up in bed, motionless. There was almost a serene, peaceful look about her. Hair had been combed neatly out of her eyes and her bedclothes had been changed from a horrible paper hospital gown into a cloth one. Not a single noise came from her, although the machines she had been hooked up to made several different types of noises in her stead. The most noticeable of them all was a sharp beep which monitored her pulse.

A nurse had been stationed with her at all time in case she woke up, also because the hospital ruled this a suicide attempt. Policy stated any and all individuals that attempted to take their life needed supervision at all times, regardless of state of consciousness. The nurse touched Sakura's pale cheek, wondering what could have caused such a pretty girl to do something like this to her body. She looked over at the various monitors next to the bed to see any activity. Sakura's cheek was pale, but there was indeed still life inside her small body.

"Goodness child, I wish I could help you more right now..." There was no response, no movement, no sign that her words went through. Again she peered at her vitals wondering if there would be any change. Still nothing. No brain activity. "I know you're in there, hang in there," The nurse squeezed Sakura hand and continued to attend to her work in the small, square room.

"_Syaoran?" Sakura was propped against Syaoran in bed. Both had been reading their own separate books for the past hour in silence. University entrance exams were rapidly approaching now and the immense stress both were under was almost unfathomable. Sakura had thought that the stress she went under for high school entrance was something else. That was nothing in comparison to all the weight she felt on her shoulders the last few weeks. Her Syaoran though... he took things wonderfully. Hardly did the young man break much sweat or lose much sleep over the pending examinations. _

"_Hmm?" Syaoran hardly lost a beat reading his book. He was hardly paying attention to her words. School work was indeed most important to him. _

"_Why don't you act like my boyfriend anymore?" Syaoran's eyebrows went straight up in surprise. There he was in bed with her. Although both were reading, they were still sharing an intimate and private moment together. There would not be any other lady he would allow this behavior with. _

_Syaoran flapped the page of his book and placed it on the nightstand next to his bed. "What's bringing this on?" Often times Sakura felt insecure in their relationship. These insecurities came in waves and a few gentle pokes and prods from him would remedy it. Although this time he felt like this was indeed unwarranted, he had been spending plenty of time on her recently and they were indeed still acting romantically towards one another, despite the fact that their relationship was now long past the honeymoon period. _

_There was an uncomfortable wiggle from Sakura as she struggled to once again find her barrings next to Syaoran. "All we do is study, you never touch me," Syaoran frowned at this. She was talking crazy once again. He reached over to her own book she had flopped down on the bed, marked her place and placed it on the nightstand on top of his. _

"_You know very well that this is important. We always get so caught up that we lose track of the time. Besides.." he pulled her into his arms now, "we decided that it would be special if we waited until after exams so we could enjoy it more," This gave little comfort still to Sakura who fussed in his arms. "Don't be like that, Yingfa, have patience," _

"_I am being patient, but sometimes I think we need different things," Sakura sighed and bit her lower lip. Even when upset, she was still so damn cute. _

"_Now?" Syaoran attempted to diffuse the tension by poking her nose. "Didn't you want me to get us a hotel room, flowers, wine?" Once again she sifted in his arms and thought about her words carefully. _

"_Those are all just objects. I could be with you on a mattress on the floor in the living room and it could mean more than in the fanciest hotel in Tokyo with the most expensive wine and flowers you could afford..." _

_Syaoran shifted his position and trapped her underneath him. He had both elbows on either side of her head and he knees cradling her hips. It caught her off guard, but his advancement was not unwelcome. "Sakura," He kissed her cheek. "I" He kissed the other one, "love," he kissed her forehead, "you," he took her lips finally in a deep kiss. Their lips pushed against each other, but their tongues stayed in check. "I promise I'll give you everything. I promise right now you'll have everything you could need with me. I'll take care of you, always. In return, please work with me. I can't tell you everything, I wish I could. Give me time," He was serious, his eyes piercing, but still full of love. _

_She soaked his words up and nodded her head in agreement. _

"_Come here... I guess we can have a small break..." Syaoran cuddled her close now and rolled over onto his side to not put too much weight on her. He pushed his forehead against her and closed his eyes, taking in her smell. Over the years both had become relatively accustomed to one another; both had their unique smell, which was something Syaoran always loved. He loved her to smell her, it was faintly floral and so feminine. Not too strong either, but just enough to get his brain to think of her. _

_Within a few minutes their lips had met once again in ginger kisses, testing each other out. Gradually their kisses became deeper and longer, falling into a gentle rhythm with the other. Their bodies failed to join in the way that Sakura had been alluding to, but in the span of a few hours on Syaoran's bed they loved each other. It was everything a young woman could ask for. Completeness emotionally, physically and every way between. _

"Sakura's body is weak, she was severely underweight for her height and age. Unfortunately because of that, her body is having a more difficult time after the overdose. I understand she was in a depression, is that correct?"

Fujitaka sat at a desk in a rather mundane office with the same doctor as before. It was closing in on midnight now and Sakura's father was now being talked to about the professional medical team's assessment of the situation. He nodded and squeezed his hands together, doing all he could to keep his composure. It was vital he kept calm to not miss any important information that could potentially help Sakura.

"Yes..."

The doctor nodded. "You were made aware of our policy then about 24-surveillance due to this being a suicide attempt," Fujitaka's eyes glazed over and pushed all thought of crying out of his head. _For Sakura's sake_. "We've done what we could with her to flush her system and monitor her heart to make sure she does not go into cardiac arrest. I'm sad to say though she has slipped into a coma. We have her hooked up to a few machines to monitor. A nurse will be with her at all times for 72 hours. If there is no improvement, we will be forced to transfer her to a psychiatric hospital. The closest one is in Tokyo."

From across the desk the doctor slid a packet of paperwork to him. All of this was overwhelming. Unfathomable. He reached into his pocket and squeezed a small piece of fabric. A piece of a scarf that Nadeshiko had once worn frequently kept him calm and reminded him of her love in difficult situations such as this. He was here alone now, his wife long gone from his side. At least physically she was gone from his side. There had to be a way that she was watching over their daughter right now. Taking care of her, if only spiritually.

"I understand, sir," Fujitaka nodded and collected the appropriate paperwork.

"We will be in touch, the hospital's visiting hours open at 9am in the morning," The two nodded in agreement with one another and both stood up, shook hands and left.

"Nadeshiko..." Fujitaka passed by Sakura's room once more on his way out. "Please, take care of her, please protect her," He took the small piece of fabric out of his pocket as he prayed to his deceased love. "Sakura, I know how hard it is to lose the one you love... I wanted to crawl away too, but then I saw you and your brother... and I knew I could love still seeing your faces... please fight," Fujitaka closed his eyes and put his hand on the glass. It caught the attention of the attending nurse, who gave the concerned father a nod and gentle smile.


	6. Chapter 6

Somewhere in Time

06

The outline of a man dressed in white with long flowing silvery hair was almost indistinguishable in in the window due to the fresh dumping of snow over the last few hours. Tomoyo's room was on the second floor of her mother's house and she was only expecting one guest, it had to be him. Next to Yue was a small yellow bear-like creature fluttering avidly and anxiously.

Tomoyo sprang from her spot in the closet immediately after her initial shock of being disrupted. A wisp of icy air flowed in as she let the two magical creatures into her room. Though Kero was a beast and Yue a man, they still bore the same perplexed and distraught faces brought on by the traumatizing events that had unfolded in the last ten hours or so.

Without much thought, Tomoyo sprung herself into Yue's arms. It was quite startling as their relationship was not a close one, but he obliged nonetheless and cradled the distraught woman.

"It's about Sakura..." Tomoyo pulled away and looked at both of her guests with fierce determination. "...I want to know about the fate of the Sakura cards with her …. like..." She struggled to find the word, or struggled to vocalize it... "... this..." She looked away, almost ashamed.

Yue touched his chin and looked at the moonlight strands that crawled through the window. "Tomoyo, she's still alive," Kero nodded in agreement.

"The cards still belong to her, her energy has not left this plane." Kero was quick to add more to Yue's statement. "We aren't going to have another incident like what happened when she first opened the Book of Clow, if that's what you're playing at..." Kero gave Tomoyo a skeptical look. Somehow he thought that this was not on Tomoyo's mind.

Indeed he was right when Tomoyo shook her head in disagreement. "That's not what I was thinking," She clenched her fist now, nerves flowing through her over the possibility of something like this working. After all, wouldn't the two guardians already crossed this idea off? "What about using the cards to help her? Or any sort of magic?" Her eyes were blurry with tears. "There has to be a way, Sleep, Dream, Time...Hope..."

"Tomoyo, where is Li Syaoran,"

"Kero! That's not relevant!" Tomoyo blurted out. That name, that damn name. Had he done enough damage to Sakura yet? "...and I don't even know. He's been gone for weeks now." Her eyes soured and turned dark. Even if he showed up and held Sakura's hand or took her back, it would not repair any of the damage caused this afternoon.

"Tomoyo... I know this is difficult on you," Yue placed a hand on the much shorter Tomoyo's shoulder to offer some sort of condolence and support. "Kero had been looking into what I think you were thinking about. He told me on the way over. Unfortunately I have not been able to do much, I have had to be my other self to comfort Touya at the moment..."

"Tomoyo, you have to find him, he's able to use the cards." He gave her a stern look. "I dunno what happened, Sakura was so quiet before she sent me to Yukito and Touya's. I can't feel him, Yue can't feel him."

There was a pause in the discussion; Tomoyo took that time to sit herself down on her bed and asses the situation. She had unlimited resources at her disposal, but it came down to the fact that she was at a dead end after her initial search efforts. She put her face in her hands. "If Syaoran were here, he could use the cards in theory, right?" This was the main thing she had been after, if there was anyone else who had the power to control the cards.

Kero fluttered himself onto Tomoyo's lap and sat himself down. "I think so. Their powers had mixed, I think. It's been many years since I've even seen the cards, she kept them hidden and away now. I have not seen them to be sure-"

"Their powers mixed? What does that mean?" Tomoyo grabbed Kero and brought him to eye level.

"Hey lemme go!" Kero was not amused with Tomoyo's rough handling of him, even if the situation was quite stressful on everyone. "What I mean is that I _think _Sakura and Syaoran are bonded together by more than intangible love, but like I said, I dunno, could be wrong, haven't seen the cards in years,"

A quizzical look was painted across Tomoyo's face. It was clear that she was not following what was being said.

"Tomoyo, what Kero was trying to say was if Sakura and Syaoran have physically joined together, it is entirely possible that the cards will respond to him as well as her." With that Tomoyo's eyes grew large as the adult nature this conversation had undertaken. She continued to delve deep into her own soul looking for answers. Nothing.

"I... I see..." Tomoyo finally sighed. Quite a task was ahead of her now. Of course she had been up against obstacles before, but none quite as serious and pressing as this. For Sakura though, she would do anything and everything to ensure the safety and well-being of her precious cousin and best friend. "I'll have to start in Hong Kong then. I don't know where else..." The sentence remained unfinished as her gaze averted back to the window. What would she do if she found him there? What would she do if she didn't? There were no other options though, his childhood home and the people there must talk if they knew the circumstances of Tomoyo's visit.

Yue nodded in agreement. Kero followed suit. "We'll stay here. I'll have to find where she's hid the cards."

"I'll let you know how things go here with Sakura's condition."


	7. Chapter 7

Somewhere in Time

I have a very bad block at this time. Any encouragement would be most appreciated. I know where this is all going but I can't write it down.

07

_Sakura sneezed and reached over to her bedside table for her box of tissues. She blew her nose and tossed the used tissue in the rubbish bin. Over the last two days she had been steadily filling it with the remnants of her nasty cold. She pulled the duvet up to her chin and sighed. If only it wasn't so cold... a shiver went down her spine and her mind continued to spin. Oh sleep, if only she could find herself in it's throngs again. Being awake was so physically _painful_. _

_A knock came from the door which interrupted her thoughts of self-pity about her illness. Instead of waiting for a response, the door was pushed ajar and a young man entered with a bouquet of flowers in his arms. Gestures such as this would normally elicit a jump of excitement from Sakura, but today all her energy was zapped. She did manage to pull the duvet down to show her jubilant facial reaction. _

"_I'm sorry you had to miss school again," He placed the vase of flowers in a patch of sunlight on her desk. For a few moments he repositioned the flowers and pulled some of the pink ones to the front for her. "I was hoping these would make you feel a little bit better," He turned around and gave her a small smile. Sakura nodded and started to pull herself more into a sitting position. _

"_Thank you," Always she could count on Syaoran to make her days a bit brighter. Always she could count on him to put her best interests first. "Dad said he was coming home early..." Syaoran nodded. _

"_I'll stay until he gets home if you want, I brought homework …." Sakura frowned, which caused Syaoran to chuckle. "...but I know you probably are too weak to study," he finished his sentence and ruffled her fringe. _

"_Mou... Syaoran..." She stuck her tongue out at his silly antics. In the last two years Syaoran had opened up much more to her and had exposed a softer, gentler, and often more playful side. Moments like that though were exclusively for her eyes only, never did moments like that happen in front of other prying eyes. Sakura would have it no other way, it was a sign of their closeness and his trust in her. "It's so cold in here," _

_He sat himself down on the side of her bed and felt her forehead. It was a beautiful early spring day and nowhere near chilly outside. Palm placed to her forehead, she felt warm. Though he was no expert on treating illnesses, he knew that when he was young his mother had done this to check for temperatures. From his limited knowledge, it felt as though Sakura may be feverish. "You feel warm, I think you have a fever." Syaoran told Sakura. "I'm going to go run to the pharmacy, will you be alright alone again for a little bit?" _

_A nod from Sakura indicated her approval of his plan. Syaoran pushed his lips to her forehead. There they lingered for a few extra moments until he pushed himself away. "I'll be right back, hang tight," _

_Her eyelids drooped down despite her internal protests to keep them open. Mind disconnected from her body and once more she found herself in a deep sleep. _

_As promised, Syaoran returned promptly. This time he failed to knock on the door and simply pushed it open. He found his Sakura in much the same position as he had left her in. Two pillows propped her head up with two blankets wrapped around her small frame. No movement came from her except for her chest moving up and down with each inhale and exhale. Syaoran took his paper bag and placed it next to the vase of flowers. He emptied it on her desk and examined everything: a fever reducer, menthol chest rub, some cough drops, and a small collection of fashion magazines. He opened the bottle of fever reducer tablets and jiggled two out. _

"_Sakura..." he kneeled on one knee next to her bed, "I need you to wake up and take these," Syaoran felt her forehead again, and indeed she was still pretty warm. Perhaps she was even warmer than when he had left her. Her eyelids were rather heavy and took some effort in opening them. A few flutters and they were finally open most of the way. His face was so close to hers she would have jumped had she the energy. _

"_Why are you... on one knee Syaochan?" Sakura spoke deliriously and not of sound mind. _

"_Shh," Syaoran handed her the two pills and had a cup of water ready for her to swallow. "These will make you feel better," With assurance from Syaoran, Sakura swallowed the two small tablets and closed her eyes again. She scooted herself over in bed and made room for him to lay next to her. A miniscule chuckle came from Syaoran as he noticed her passive advances at him, even in such a sickly state. "If you insist," _

_It was warm outside and a bit warmer inside. Sakura had the thick layer of blankets over her due to her fever but Syaoran lifted the blankets up and scooted himself in next to her. The bed was small, there was hardly any extra room. Not that either minded though, he positioned himself on his side and wrapped both his arms around her. _

"_Sakurahime," Syaoran nibbled on her ear. Never would there come a time when she did not enjoy this sort of attention. Indeed her lips did pull upwards into a smile but her eyes remained shut. For the next fifteen minutes or so he stroked her forehead, kissed the side of her face and enjoyed the solitude of their moment together. After a while her breathing slowed down again, the movement of her chest bobbing up and down slowed and her face relaxed as her body slipped once more into a dream. Only when he was sure she was asleep did he speak again. But this time much more quietly to be sure he wold not disturb her again. _

"_I'm going to ask your dad if I can marry you. Even when you're sick with snot coming out of your nose I want to take care of you just like this. I'll learn how." When those words escaped his mouth he felt his cheeks flush with color. _


	8. Chapter 8

Somewhere in Time

_I'm happy that people are still interested. When I started to write this story at the end of January I was in the worst place imaginable. In the last five months things have brightened up. A lot of amazing things happened that I didn't think would happen so quickly. I know you won't see this: I love you very much in a way I've not felt before. You made my personal life shine and because of that I can't seem to write. :) _

08

Syaoran sat in silence in a rather small room with a modest dining room set. In front of him sat a bowl with a small portion of rice, a larger bowl with some sort of broth-based soup in it and a cup of steaming tea. For the past week he had struggled with himself to eat. None of his favorite foods enticed him enough to finish his meals. He had settled for a lighter course of food for this evening and still he struggled picking up his chopsticks to feed himself a few grains of rice.

Was there really much of a point to eating anymore? The rice smelled decent enough. The soup had more broth than vegetables. In the liquid two eggs floated to the top with a piece of spinach below. When looking from his angle it almost looked like the soup was smiling at him. He frowned at it and used his chopstick to swirl the contents around. No. No smiling allowed.

The rain had not stopped at all today. It was about noon and the sun had yet to come out of hiding. Instead a mass of dark gray clouds had ascended over the sun and seemed to have permanently perched themselves in front of the bright rays. The full-length window that looked out across the bustling city let very little light into the apartment and tinged everything a drab, lifeless grayish color. That was perfectly fine with Syaoran. It matched his mood. It matched his soul.

He brought the small bowl to his lips and tipped it upward to pour the warm contents into his mouth. There was no taste to it. Supposedly it was chicken broth but none of his taste buds picked up on that or any flavor in the egg or any other vegetables hiding in the broth. Syaoran's eyebrows furrowed and he pulled the bowl away from his lips in disgust.

"I hate myself." The tone of disgust echoed against the walls. It was so sparsely decorated that the sound was amplified. It tormented him. It was nature's way of rubbing it all in, pouring the salt into his festering wounds. He was unhappy, she was unhappy. Everyone was silently unhappy and continuing a charade of nonsense that finally came crashing down in the worst possible way. Regrets...

Syaoran pushed the stupid bowl away and got up from the table and moved slowly into the only bedroom the apartment contained. The four walls in the room were the same gray color as the rest of the apartment, blanketed in the depressing color by the storm outside. His bed was tiny, only big enough for himself. There would be no one to keep him company anymore. There would be no ray of sunshine to wake up to. Here he would be trapped in his own prison. There might as well have been bars on the windows too.

He crawled into his unmade bed and pulled all the blankets up over himself and closed his eyes. Each and every day was the same now. Monday was the same as Tuesday and then suddenly it was Wednesday; the weekend had no meaning as it was exactly the same as the other days. There were no Sunday night blues. Indeed, there were no things to even remind him of the date. There were no clocks and no phones. A television sat in the living room, but it had accumulated a considerable amount of dust over the past few weeks because of it falling into disuse.

In bed, Syaoran turned onto his back and looked at the ceiling. Nothing. Nothing to see up there, still. After all the searching he did on this tiny piece of ceiling above his bed, he still found nothing; he still found no answers to his questions.

What was going on in his heart? What in the world had made him lose it all?

Those questions were tough and he would spend half his days trying to make sense of it all and the other half trying to drive all those thoughts clear away. He found himself in this vicious cycle unable to escape. Not even the allure of Hong Kong's vast open air markets and vibrant energy could snap this. He grabbed a fistful of of the gray blanket and pulled the material up to his face and rubbed his eyes with it. The motions irritated his eyes further and red pigment flushed into the whites of his eyes. A few tears had accumulated In the far corners of his eyes; the gray blanket absorbed them into it's fibers. It would hold his secrets and be the one to offer the comfort her needed as he began his soul searching for the afternoon.


End file.
